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Child Care

With millions of preschool children in need of day care and a shortage of spaces in day care centers and preschools, the need for in-home (at-home) private child care businesses is great and will continue to be so for some time to come. Most home-based child care businesses care for four to six children, who may come full-time, part-time, or as drop-ins. Some businesses specify the age range of the children they feel most comfortable with and can handle.

Before starting a home-based child care service, check your state's regulations and licensing requirements. Many states require a background check for those who teach or work with children.

Start-Up Costs and Financing Sources

Can be as low as $700 to as high as $20,000, depending on the equipment you buy and use. If you need to remodel a room or play area, the upper estimate applies.
Personal savings, SBA loan, line of credit at your bank, government funding (in some states, government funds are available to sponsor children of low-income families who attend your day care).

Pricing Guidelines

$130 to $255 per week per child; $35 to $50 per day for infant care; $35 for a half-day and $45 for a full day. (Prices vary for different parts of the country.)

Marketing and Advertising Methods and Tips

Encourage word-of-mouth referrals.
Place a listing with a child care referral service.

Essential Equipment

Good furniture (can be bought used), learning toys (checked for safety), cribs, high chairs, playpens, first aid supplies, craft supplies, business telephone line.

Recommended Training, Experience, or Needed Skills

Work in a day care center and see if you would like to do this kind of work every day.
Take courses in child care or early childhood education at local community colleges.
Use your experience with children from infancy to six years old as a mother (if you are one) or a caretaker.
Have a love of children and enjoy teaching and working with them!
Have patience, be well organized, and think like a child in the way you plan activities for them.

Income Potential

$125 to $250 per child per week; $25,000 to $45,000 + per year.

Type of Business

An in-home business.

Target Market

Parents who work, parents who want to go shopping or to an appointment.

Success Tips

Begin by looking into the licensing, zoning, and insurance regulations in your community and state. Regulations vary from state to state and from town to town. Visit both the offices of your local authorities and state congresspersons for the codes you are required to meet. They will also inform you about personnel background checks and procedures.
Talk to child care center directors, owners of in-home child care businesses (in noncompeting areas), parents of children who attend day care; and/or work or volunteer in a child care setting yourself to get firsthand experience and an idea of the programs, schedules, and so forth, that such a business involves.
Prepare a business plan to help you organize and prepare your business start-up, as well as to assist you in obtaining funding should you need it. You may need to do some remodeling to conform to safety, health, and security codes.
Consulting with a lawyer familiar with child care laws and liability is very important to fully understand your legal options and ramifications. Have your lawyer draw up a contract so both you and the parents are sure about the terms of the day care arrangement (especially payment and when parents should pick up their children).
Have a trial period for newcomers.
Have a back-up worker ready in the event you should become ill.
Know emergency and first aid procedures.
Be sure you can handle five days a week, 10 hours a day.

For More Information

Send an LSASE to any of the following for information on membership, accreditation, and legislation affecting child care issues and news:

Child Care Action Campaign
330 Seventh Avenue, 14th Floor New York, NY 10001
< www.chiIdcareaction.org >

Child care advocacy organization.
National Association for Family Child Care
5202 Pinemont Drive Salt Lake City, UT 84123
< www.nafcc.org >

National Association for the Education of Young Children
1509 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036
< www.naeyc.org >

Distance Education and Training Council
1601 18th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009
< www.detc.org >

Professional Career Development Institute (PCD1)
430 Technology Parkway Norcross, GA 30092
< www.pcdi.com >

Additional Business Ideas

Nanny, child care referral service. Find baby-sitters, then check their qualifications and references and refer them to people needing reliable child care services. You are paid by the persons looking for baby-sitters.
Start a nanny referral or placement service to help parents find professional in-home nannies for their children. Contact: The International Nanny Association, Station House #438, 900 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood, NY 08108; A nonprofit organization for nanny professionals, nanny placement agencies, and others involved with in-home child care. Send an LSASE for information.
Child care consulting service. Help businesses start a day care center for their employees' children. Charge $5,000 to $ 15,000 for a consulting fee.
Personal Services 139
Child transportation service.
Child care for sick children.
Play group.
Drop-in child care services for stay-at-home parents (home-based business owners need uninterrupted time to conduct business), for part-time workers, for parents who are students, are traveling, or are going through crises, or for some other temporary situation creating a child care need. Staying open longer hours on Fridays or Saturdays can give working parents a few hours for leisure activities.
Special-needs, preschool children who are not enrolled in special programs or for parents who need respite care.
Children with minor illnesses or in need of temporary medical care for whom other child care services are not capable of handling.
After-school care is in great demand as many children are alone in the afternoons with a potential risk of getting into trouble. It is not uncommon for such programs to make from $65,000 to $125,000 a year! School districts often contract these services out to businesses to run.

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